"I will arrange for people to investigate," Luo Yunshan said, nodding as he took the paper. "Once we have results, I'll let you know as soon as possible. You should rest up, and tomorrow we'll go into the mountains together."

Luo Yunshan presumably had many things to arrange. After a few simple instructions, he prepared to leave, saying that any needs could be communicated to the person in charge here. The entire town at the foot of the mountain had been placed under surveillance, so they could rest assured.

"Do you have any wine?" Number 2 suddenly asked.

Luo Yunshan, who had already walked out the door, stopped and slowly turned around. "Yes, someone will bring it later. There's a mission tomorrow, don't let it interfere."

Number 2 took off his incongruous cowboy hat, held it in his hand, and smiled wanly. "My heart feels empty; I can't sleep without a little drink."

It was obvious that Number 13 wanted to stay and live with them. Of course, Jiang Cheng knew this had nothing to do with him; it was entirely because he couldn't bear to part with Fatty. But it seemed Number 2 still had some things to explain, so Number 13 was reluctantly taken away to sleep in the next room.

Perhaps at Number 2's request, the "boss lady" they had met before knocked on the door and brought them some wine, including red, white, and beer.

The sight of the alcohol triggered Fatty's memories of the small room in the studio, the scenes of him, Doctor, and Huai Yi drinking and bragging flashing before his eyes, as if it all happened yesterday.

He didn't know when they would meet again, or if... perhaps, for him, there would be no day to meet again, after all, the time left for him was running out.

Wu Xiong said he missed the best opportunity. From Wu's murderous eyes, Fatty believed he wasn't lying.

Fortunately, Doctor still didn't know any of this.

Suddenly, Fatty had an impulse to drag Doctor out for a good drink, to forget everything after getting drunk. This was a habit of the three of them. Every time they left a mission world, they would huddle on the sofa in the studio, drinking to celebrate, only to wake up the next day to a scene of utter chaos.

A dull thud brought Fatty's thoughts back to reality. An opened can of beer was placed in front of him. Jiang Cheng opened one for himself as well. The beer was iced, still carrying a chill to the touch, but what worried Fatty more at this moment was Doctor's gaze. The two didn't speak, but silently drank their beer.

Fatty knew very well that Doctor was full of questions, but Doctor couldn't ask, didn't dare to ask, because many of the questions were about him, and he simply had no way to answer. He had even considered making up a lie to deceive Doctor, which would be better than the scene remaining so stiff, but the next second, he dismissed the idea, because he knew he couldn't fool Doctor at all. The reason Doctor hadn't asked was that he didn't want him to lie.

After the alcohol had taken effect, the two lay down on separate single beds, covering themselves with blankets up to their chins, and with entanglement, doubt, fear, and all sorts of complex emotions, they fell into a deep sleep.

Jiang Cheng didn't sleep peacefully that night. Too many bizarre scenes appeared in his dream. He followed a team of people, walking on a rugged mountain road. The night was dark, filled with a hazy mist. Even with the torches held by the people in front, he couldn't see clearly. The group walked slowly like this, without anyone speaking, and without knowing where the end was. Jiang Cheng vaguely felt they were rushing to a very important place, a place... that was very good, a place with everything they wanted, like a paradise.

As this thought appeared, Jiang Cheng couldn't help but shiver. He finally seemed to break free from a strange restraint in the dream. As he looked at the people in front again, everything changed. These people… these people seemed to have noticed Jiang Cheng's strangeness as well. They stopped and turned around one after another.

Jiang Cheng was stunned, unable to help but widen his eyes, because the two people closest to him turned around and were actually… Yao, Shun, Yu, and Li Bai!

At this moment, the two of them wore strange smiles on their faces, their slightly dilated pupils staring at Jiang Cheng, making the latter's hair stand on end. Jiang Cheng's first reaction was to run, to run as fast as possible, to leave this place. Clearly, Yao, Shun, Yu, and Li Bai were no longer normal. The feeling they gave him now was more like ghosts.

The next second, Jiang Cheng woke up from the dream with a start. He sat on the bed, gasping for breath, his body and the blanket soaked in cold sweat. He felt a sense of lingering fear. If he had continued to follow this team, all that awaited him was eternal damnation.

Maybe… maybe he would have walked all the way to the underworld.

After recovering, Jiang Cheng tried to move his body. Fortunately, it really was just a dream. He was now lying on the single bed in the small hotel. The sheets felt rough to the touch, and a white orchid was printed on the white sheet, but probably because it had been washed so many times, most of the orchid had been washed away, leaving only a blurred impression.

Jiang Cheng realized belatedly, how could he be observing a bed sheet so carefully? It was as if something was controlling his thoughts in the dark, and this feeling was the most terrifying.

Subconsciously, he intended to wake up Fatty who was sleeping on the other bed, but as Jiang Cheng turned his head, the expression that had just eased immediately froze on his face.

The other bed was empty, the blanket folded neatly at the corner of the bed.

Fatty was gone…

No, that wasn't right. It felt like… it felt like Fatty had never been there at all!

Jiang Cheng completely panicked. He didn't even have time to put on his shoes, and rushed straight to the door, opening it and frantically knocking on the door next door. He had to tell Number 2 and Number 13 the news. This was too strange. In the space of one night, Fatty… Fatty had disappeared, and Wu had no reaction either!

But an even more despairing scene appeared. There was no response at all from next door. He put his ear to the door and listened, but there wasn't a sound inside, as silent as death.

Number 2 and Number 13 had also disappeared…

Why?

What on earth had happened?

Jiang Cheng didn't dare to think any further. He knew that if he wasn't mentally deranged, then something very terrible must have happened in the night. He stopped making noise, and instead returned to his room first, put on his shoes and clothes, and then slowly went down the stairs. He went down one floor, came to the first floor, and at this moment, the lobby on the first floor was also very quiet. The front desk was empty, the hotel door was closed, and he couldn't see the situation outside for the time being.

In a daze, Jiang Cheng felt as if he had come to a parallel world, a world that was the same as the one he knew, except that it had erased the existence of everyone else, leaving only him.

But some kind of danger must be lurking around, he could feel it, gradually approaching him.

Just as he was looking around, his nerves highly tense, a "creak" sounded behind him, and the hotel door was pushed open.